Community Calendar

Learn the basics of 3D printing at the Wichita Public Library, and the best practices for optimizing prints for the library's Prusa printers. Call (316) 261-8500 or visit wichitalibrary.org/events to register.

Celebrate the changing of seasons and craft an autumn tree with colorful falling leaves. This is a drop-in craft for ages 4-11.

Meet the Speaker

A Wichita native, Gary Clark has worked in computer-related industries his whole career. Recently retired from the business world, he still writes books on vintage photographs and history related topics. Bit by the genealogy bug in 1993, research into his Johnson and Clark primary genealogy lines and other branches occupies much of his free time. He has many ancestors and current family members in Sedgwick, Cowley, Sumner, Harvey, and Reno counties.

About the Program

This informative session will feature an overview, demonstration, and examples of the American Ancestors online genealogy service. Described as a National Center for Family History, Heritage, and Culture, American Ancestors provides access to an excellent array of genealogy databases, historical records, educational tools, and original scans dating back to the 1700s. While its focus is on New England and the eastern seaboard, it also includes resources from across the United States.

Thanks to the Wichita Genealogical Society, access to this invaluable service is free in the Historical Research Pavilion at the Advanced Learning Library. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a must-see application that is often overlooked by genealogists.

In addition, enjoy a brief review of other subscription-based genealogy resources available for free at the library, including Newspapers.com, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.com, Fold3.com, and HeritageQuest.

This is an event you won’t want to miss—perfect for genealogists at all levels!

Discover American Ancestors for early American genealogy research. Free access in the WPL to an array of databases and records from the New England Historical and Genealogy Society.

Learn how to live in the wild with Roz through games and activities based on the book "Wild Robot" by Peter Brown. For ages 6-11.

Come enjoy ice cream with toppings in front of the 1890s building.
Live entertainment.
Suggested donation: $10, children under 12 are $5.

Watermark is thrilled to welcome Laurie Gilmore in store for the release of her new book, The Gingerbread Bakery! This is a ticketed event, and each ticket purchase includes a complimentary copy of the book. If you are unable to attend the event in person, we are happy to have the book signed and personalized, and either mailed to you, or available in store for pickup. You will have one year from the date of the event to pick up the book. After one year, the book will be donated.

This five-day festival features an artistic fusion of food and friends benefiting Mark Arts. A variety of culinary and libation workshops will be held Tuesday through Saturday featuring local culinary experts.

The festival culminates on Saturday, Sept. 20 with a Foodie Fair where guests can enjoy a keynote talk by an industry expert and sample food from local chefs and restaurants.

North America's largest interactive comedy murder mystery dinner theatre show is now playing in Wichita, KS! Solve a hilarious true crime murder mystery while you feast on a fantastic dinner. Just beware! The culprit is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the room, and you may find yourself as a Prime Suspect before you know it!

Join us for an event that is very different from a traditional mystery dinner show. Our actors are not dressed in costume and are hidden in the audience! This results in a fun, social and interactive evening suitable for all adults.

Each ticket includes our signature award-winning mystery dinner theatre show, along with a full plated dinner, waitstaff gratuity, and plenty of surprises during the show.

Chantilly Lace moves to Burlap Gap to be the new cook and housekeeper for ranch owner Hugo Boss. She meets Levi Wrangler, who owns the homestead next door, and it’s love at first sight. But Hugo Boss wants his daughter, Velvet Velour, to marry Levi so he can add his farmland to his spread. Can Hugo stymie the star-crossed lovers? Does Levi manage to hold on to his home while losing his heart? Can Chantilly see through Hugo’s fibs and fabrications? Will Hugo’s ranch hands agree to wearing fringed fancy duds to the big square dance? Find out in this mod, madcap Midwest melodrama!
7pm Friday and Saturday
2pm Sundays
Doors open 30 minutes before
Tickets available at http://empirehouseplayers.com
$7 - Children 5+
$15 - Adults 13+
4 & Under Free
Parking is in the WEST lot, 1/4 mile down from the main entrance Fri & Sat. Parking in standard Old Cowtown Museum Visitor Center parking on Sunday.
Cast of Characters:
Ella Hawk as CHANTILLY LACE (Heroine)
Owen Balman as LEVI WRANGLER (Hero)
Todd Reifschneider as HUGO BOSS (Villain)
Amanda Dahna as VELVET VELOUR (Vamp)
Hanson Long as RICK RACK (hot-headed cowhand)
John Suffield as DOC MARTENS (older and wiser cowhand)
Nathan Betzen as CHUCK TAYLOR (goofy cowhand)
Angela West as BELLE BOTTOMS (owner of the Burlap Gap Boutique)
Ashley Grega as MINNIE SKIRT (cheery sales clerk)
Hadassah Suffield as POLLY ESTHER (straight-laced school teacher)

This monthly flea market is operated by a local Wichita family with around 200 local and regional vendor booths with items that include antiques, crafts, vintage items, collectibles, primitives, reclaimed items, comics, artwork, jewelry, toys, and so much more. What treasures will you find?

ShowerUp: Mobile Showers And Personal Care ShowerUp serves those experiencing homelessness and anyone in need by providing mobile showers, hygiene resources, and personal care. It’s our goal to Shower Grace, Hope, and Love with everyone.

Wichitans desired to be modern since the City’s beginning in 1870. The Modern era had been evolving for a century at that time and it would take another 100 years before Wichita achieved a “modern” look. World War II (1939-1945) greatly disrupted development in design.

Over the next two decades, postwar prosperity propelled design of the modern era to its zenith. By that time, Wichita’s modernization was most apparent in its new urban 1969 skyline, which remains in place today.

In the 1950s and 1960s, modern design from architecture to fashions and furnishings became familiar as people followed popular trends replacing old with new. Visual art and advertising led the way for the modern look - which by the 1960s, people referred to as “Mod.” This new look coincided with changes as society became more pluralistic and increasingly aware of its diversity. The post-war baby boom gave rise to a prominent youth culture creating new markets. New technology improving the ability to travel and share information led to wide acceptance of modern style.

This modern sensibility cast a popular and unifying mindset. This era featured non-representational abstract design to create engaging effects rather than portray objects or scenes. The effects were both dazzling and confusing, challenging everyone’s perception of reality. Our visual world was forever changed.

(This exhibition follows (and is directly patterned after) the Museum’s previous exhibit Art Deco on the Plains. It takes the timeline forward to explore modern design experienced locally in the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition is a feature of the Lois Kay Walls Local Visual Art History Series.)

On view through 2025 in the Slawson Gallery, 4th floor.

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

The urge to create or possess a visual representation of a specific person – a portrait – is present throughout history. Portraits are created for many reasons: from sentimental to celebratory, for public or private viewing, as memorials, and as icons. .

Until the introduction of photography in the 1840s, portraits were rendered by artists in both two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings and sculptures.

The Museum’s collection includes a variety of portraits, most of which depict local people. In this exhibition, we learn of portraiture and the people portrayed.

On view during regular Museum hours

March 2025 - March 2026

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

Located in the Musem's Lois Kay Walls Gallery - 3rd Floor